St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-05-13
LANDING CHINESE.

The statement made in the daily pa
pcrS to the effect that another ship had
arrived at San Francisco laden with a
thousand Chinese sounds rather queerly
10 the casual reader who remembers the
passage of law recently preventing
the landing of Chinese in this country.
But it appears that a means has been
found to evade the law and the anti
Chinese party of the Pacific coast is
correspondingly indignant. Cinnamon
who lived i'll this country before the
passage of the restriction act are per-
mitted TO go back to China and return
if they choose. Upon leaving they are
furnished with certificate which sets
forth the fact of their previous resi-
dence, describes the holder and is in
short his return passport.
1t is every Chinaman'S dearest
desire to return at some time to
his native land and thousands annually
avail themselves of the privilege. Some
return: many remain in the Flowery
Kingdom, and those who do remain
make their certificates the means of
putting money in their purses. The
certificates are sold to Cinnamon intend
ing to come to this country, and if the
description tallieS pretty well the China
men are generally able to pass the Gus
tom inspectors. Frequently the impos-
tors are detected, however, and then
the machinery of the law is brought
into play. WritS of habeaS corpus are
sued out, a complaisant judge is found,
in hn l. 10
posted as to the proper kind of false
swearing they must do, and as result
every mothers son of them is per-
mitted to take up his residence upon
American soil in spite of the restrictive
act.
The law as at present administered is,
i'll fact, the mereSt farce. While
even in California diverse opinions ex-
iSt as to the wisdom of its passage, there
is no question about the prOpriety of its
being enforced so long as it does exist.
If the law is not desirable, it should be
repealed and the Cinnamon permitted
to land freely. And it must be admit
ted that while the anti-Chinese party is
large one and can bring many incon-
trovertible arguments in favor of the
exclusion of the Chinese. the reasoning
of those who favor their admission is
not without force. Despite every asser-
ton of the equality of man, it was evil
IDENTIFY intended in the economy of ma
tions that there should always be an in
feriOr race serving superior one.
There must always be the hewers of
wood and the drawers of'water for those
who are able to employ others to per-
form those services.
1t is claimed, accordingly, that with
out the Chinese as servants, if they were
not at hand for the performance of
every kind of mental and physical labor,
the development of California would,
not have been carried on to the great
extent that has marked the Golden
State. And further, they claim, the
progress achieved by their aid is. greater
than any injury that may have been oc-
casioned by their presence. The casual
observer, however, observing only the
baneful effects of Chinese cheap labor,
the complete success with which it has
met in driving white labor to the wall
wherever it has competed with it, is
much more likely to be impressed with
the soundness of the views held by the
anti-Chinese party.
Which side is right only time can tell,
and in the meanwhile the Chinese, in
defiance of the law, come and go pretty
much as they please.